Panel Considers Repeal Of Teacher Skills Test
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Several members of a House education committee favor repeal of a law that requires a basic skills test for teachers.
The K-12 education committee met to consider a task force's report on the test.
Rep. Jason Isaacson, a DFLer from Shoreview, said it was "mind-boggling" that he and his colleagues were still talking about the issue after task force members testified there was no evidence that the test predicts teacher effectiveness.
Rep. Barb Yarusso, a DFLer also from Shoreview, questioned the test's relevance.
But Rep. Sondra Erickson, a Princeton Republican who served on the task force and is a former English teacher, said dropping the test is a bad idea.
Erickson said dropping the basic skills requirement would put Minnesota farther behind a national trend for more teacher accountability.
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